Young businessman turned politician, Dino Reyes-Chua is the current Mayor of Municipality of Noveleta in the Province of Cavite. Before entering the world of public service, Chua is considered by many as a 'Serial Investor' who loves to venture in different industries such as petroleum business, hotels , airlines, real estate, construction, schools, restaurants, film productions to name a few, but upon asking him about "what will be on top of that list?" He swiftly answered "Tourism". Chua is the President of SkyJet Airlines, the country's first boutique airline. He transformed the once small air charter company into a boutique leisure airline that flies to island dream destinations around the country.
Serving the Unserved
When Dino Reyes-Chua became the President of SkyJet Airlines back in 2014, he focused their operations to serve the unserved routes that he believed that has a lot of growth potential. "Imagine if we can duplicate the success of boracay and palawan then apply it to our other islands, it will definitely bring more progress to our country." Chua explains. "Pre-pandemic records shows that Boracay alone attracted more than 2 Million tourists, same with Palawan but remember we have more than 7,000 islands to discover and develop." Chua added. SkyJet Airlines took the initiative in launching daily direct flights from Manila to Batanes in 2014. This made Batanes as one of the sought-after 'Dream Destination'. Back then, there are no flights serving Batanes but nearly after 2 years of SkyJet operations, the other major airlines followed there, bringing more tourists, progress and development in the whole of Batanes island. Same with Siargao island, SkyJet was the first airline to launch a direct flight from Manila to Siargao Sayak Airport utilizing their fleet of 80-seater British Aerospace Jets.
"Before, the only way to reach Siargao Island is via Cebu or a 3-hours ferry ride from Surigao City Port. It was very exhausting for tourists to travel there but with the SkyJet direct flights from Manila to Siargao, it opened a lot of opportunities in the whole island. Hundreds of hotels and resorts, spas, bars and restaurants opened left and right in Siargao for the past 5 years. More tourists means more business and more business means more jobs. True enough, because of these developments, Siargao Island was hailed as the Best Surfing Destination in Asia!" said Chua. SkyJet also launched the first direct flights to Baler and Camiguin.
In 2019, then president Rodrigo Duterte signed a 25-year Franchise granting SkyJet Airlines to operate international flights. They are all set to launch international flights like Hong Kong and Taiwan directly to Boracay as well as Korea and Xiamen directly to Puerto Princesa international airport in Palawan but the covid19 pandemic happened. The government declared a total lockdown last March 15, 2020. Unfortunately, the corona virus halted all their plans for expansion. This lockdowns gave a lot of setbacks to the whole tourism industry not just the airline companies but as well as hotels and resorts and other tourism related businesses. "During those hard times, we must think of a way on how to survive and sustain our business. We have to maintain our aircrafts and our flight crew. While tourists are not allowed to travel at that time, we converted our airplanes to cargo flights just to sustain our operations. Luckily, we got a lot of contracts from logistics companies serving shopee and lazada due to the high demands of online shopping." Chua recalls.
Like many of his peers from the tourism industry, Dino Reyes-Chua went through a period of contemplation whether to continue with his endeavors in the tourism industry which got the hardest hit by the pandemic. Despite Covid-19's harsh toll on the travel sector, Chua, a seasoned trailblazer, clung to resilience and adaptability. "Up to now, whenever I remember the challenges we encountered during the pandemic, I still feel the darkness of that nightmare making me think several times to just stay away from tourism related business because I don't want to encounter those problems ever again." said Chua . Just last year, 2024, four years after the pandemic happened, Chua woke up one day in the beautiful island of El Nido, Palawan and told himself that his heart still belongs to the tourism industry . "I realized that I cannot just walk-away from this industry as I believed that tourism is the key to a progressive Philippines. At that moment, I went back to check my bucket lists. I want to revive my original plan to open a hotel / resort in every SkyJet destination." Chua shared.
Channeling the spirit akin to those who survived in the trenches, he would experience an epiphany during one of his travels. In spite of reasonable doubts and questions he cast at the universe, Chua, who in the middle of a morning walk in what is to be one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines, regained his vision, and a lightbulb moment was switched on to birth his new hotel concept.
No Stranger to the Travel Industry
As a man who wears multiply hats in business, Dino Reyes-Chua is also heavily active in public service. In addition to being the President of SkyJet Airlines, the country's first boutique airline company, Chua has been the incumbent Mayor of the Municipality of Noveleta in Cavite since 2016. His younger brother , Denver Chua is also the Mayor of Cavite City, just few kilometers away from Noveleta where Sangley airport is located. His other brother, Davey Chua is a provincial board member representing the 1st congressional district of Cavite. Dino, as a young businessman, he started building his first hotel in their hometown in Cavite. In 2008, at the age of 27, he opened El Palacio Hotel and Resort in Coastal Bay, Noveleta, Cavite. "Noveleta is a coastal town. It is the home of Lido Beach Resort and Villamar Beach Resort which is the Boracay of the 80s. It is popular during that era due to its close proximity to Metro Manila. Every weekend, my family will spend time at the beach. So, I basically grew up in the beach." said Chua. In 2013, Chua opened his second hotel venture, One Greenbelt Hotel in Ayala Center, Makati City equipped with his years of experience in hotel management. In 2016, He opened another hotel in Coron, Palawan - The Palladium Hotel Coron where SkyJet flies 3x daily from 2014 upto 2020. Despite being a David in the world of Goliaths in the local airline business, Chua made SkyJet one of the biggest innovators in the aviation industry by launching the first and only jet service to unique and exotic island destinations, such as Batanes, and direct flights to Siargao, and 3x daily flights to Coron in Palawan and launched the fastest flights to Boracay (25minutes only).
A Eureka Moment in El Nido
After encountering obstacles, which were exacerbated by the pandemic, in managing his hospitality properties, in addition to the setbacks and airline industry squabbles, Chua came close to considering totally walking away from the tourism industry. As fate would have it or wouldn't let him, a revelation came along while Chua was leisurely staying at a secluded island in El Nido, Palawan.
"I met a local who told me about a beachfront hotel property that closed down due to pandemic and the family is looking for a new investor to take over the business. " Chua narrates the events of that fateful morning. “That was November of 2023. I saw it as a sign not to give up as I felt I still have a lot of things to contribute to our beloved tourism industry”, Chua added. He proceeded to check on the property and, on the spot, he once again fell in love for the second time around and made up his mind to continue his vision for the tourism industry.
How to construct a Hotel Resort in 100-Days : The Dome Hotels & Resorts
With the peak season in mind, Chua conceived an economical Earth-friendlier and faster approach: to create a hotel and resort chain constructed from pre-fabricated materials seamlessly integrated with the natural surroundings, promoting sustainable tourism and environmental conservation.
Thus, The Dome Hotels & Resorts was born, embodying Chua's vision of non-invasive, swiftly deployable dome villas—the heart and soul of his "100-day resort project."
The main goal of the 100-day hotel project is to complete the construction of the hotel villas within 100 days or 3-months , using native and indigenous materials as possible while increasing efficiency. "We want to make sure that no trees will be cut for all our projects and we want to ensure to protect the envonment and utilize the beauty of nature as unique luxury. I personally believe that nature is the new luxury!" Chua explained. Its fundamental objective incorporates sustainable practices throughout all operations including efficient design, renewable energy use, trash reduction, and conservation initiatives.
The Dome Hotels features a dome-shaped villa wrapped in our very own nipa. The interior walls has accents of our native banig with ample living space for 2 queen-sized beds that can house the whole family, an en-suite spacious toilet and bathroom and an outdoor porch. Every villa is also equipped with aircondition units, mini-ref, Smart TV with free Netflix Movies and coffee set plus free Wi-Fi.
The Dome Hotels
The first Dome Hotel opened last November 18, 2024 in Caylabne Bay Yacht Club located in Ternate, Cavite (few minutes away from Puerto Azul) and the second one opened last February 14, 2025 in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. The property in El Nido, Palawan is currently under construction and they are targeting to open during the last quarter of 2025. Coming soon in the pipeline are The Dome Hotel in Boracay and The Dome Hotel in Siargao Island.
With grand plans in the works, who knows how much more innovation Dino Reyes-Chua can conceive in the coming days? Undoubtedly, Chua is poised once again to provide the tourism industry with a crucial boost, mirroring the impact of SkyJet Airlines on the aviation sector over the past decade.
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